The gymnastics portion of the 2024 Olympic Games has now concluded. While some stars were reaffirmed (Simone Biles won individual all-around gold and captained the US squad back to team gold position) and forged (we chatted with Stephen Nedoroscik, viral pommel horse maestro) over the last 10 days, others were introduced—on a much wider scale than ever before—to American audiences.
Without question, none shone more brightly than Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
Andrade ended her Paris Games with a semi-surprise gold medal on the floor, a discipline that has long been Biles’s territory. Andrade performed second in the lineup and set the threshold high with a score of 14.166. (To my eye, her only wobble was a small step back at the end of her final pass.)
Though Biles stepped out of bounds twice during her routine, her choreography on floor holds a high degree of difficulty, which gives her a bit of a cushion. Still, she sensed that would not be enough. “I think she got me on this one,” Biles remarked, smiling, as she awaited her score. She would end up in silver position by just .033 points. (Meanwhile, after a last-minute score inquiry, Team USA’s Jordan Chiles moved up from fourth place to take bronze.)
A medal in floor, no matter the color, was set to make Andrade Brazil’s most decorated gymnast of all time. She holds a gold in vault and a silver in the all-around from Tokyo, and in Paris, she also won bronze in the team event and two silvers in vault and the all-around.
These are extraordinary feats for a girl from a lower-income neighborhood on the edges of São Paulo, who, as a child, would regularly walk for hours to her gym and back when her mother couldn’t afford the bus fare. Likewise for a young woman who has had not one, not two, but three serious ACL injuries in recent years.
Just as Americans have followed the story of Biles’s own remarkable perseverance, Andrade’s grit and dedication since her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, where she still trains, in 2016 has earned her national hero status.
But something about these Games has thrust her into the American limelight. Biles, for one, gave Andrade her flowers in the media, and the sound bite went viral—as did the overall warmth of their rivalry. “I don’t wanna compete with Rebeca no more,” Biles said, laughing. “I’m tired. She’s way too close.”
There were also scenes of Andrade running over to meet and congratulate Biles and Suni Lee at the conclusion of the individual all-around.
With her dip-dyed and braided hair—which she wore up in a distinctive bun during competition—Andrade performed not only exceptionally well, but consistently too. We all took note. Her lasso move and little rodeo dips on her floor routine had my gymnastics WhatsApp thread going insane, along with the supreme height she gets on her vault. “She leaves orbit,” one friend texted.
And it should be said that the love between her and Biles is mutual.
“Knowing that I gave Simone a bit of work is cool, right?” Andrade told the media in Paris. “She’s the best in the world. Simone is a phenomenon… I’m so proud of being able to compete by her side.”